David Miscikowski limped and called the raise by Bassam Habib to see a flop of on which Habib check-raised and picked up a call. On the turn, Habib check-called a shove for around 35,000 with and was shown the by Miscikowski, the river was a blank.
The action was picked up with 14,500 sitting in front of Yake Wu who three-bet from middle position over a raise from under the gun. The opener countered back, four-betting to 42,000, and Wu moved all in for about 125,000. The other player tanked for a couple of minutes and then laid his hand down.
"Can I pick one?" asked Jesse Sylvia, Wu's left-hand neighbor.
Poker players rarely truly give up the game. They may walk away from poker as a profession, and even step away altogether for a lengthy period of time, but the game usually has a way of drawing them back in, even just for an odd tournament here or a home game with friends there.
So, while it was a bit of a surprise to see Fabian Quoss in the 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event, it wasn't a massive shock on the order of Allen Kessler winning threestraightpots when he got in bad.
Once one of the top tournament players in the world, racking up millions of dollars in earnings and competing in six-figure buy-ins, Quoss announced his retirement as a pro in the summer of 2018.
"Nothing Exciting"
Apparently, running up huge chip stacks is like riding a bike though, because Quoss slipped into old patterns here at Crown Melbourne when he rang up 187,100 to lead Day 1a. He hasn't slowed down at all on Day 2, sitting behind a little shy of 400,000 as the final level of the night looms.
So, is this Aussie Millions run Quoss' way of announcing his presence once more, storming back to reclaim the mantle he once held?
Not so fast.
"It's more that I happened to be around," he said. "But, I have a lot of friends here, I used to live here for a little bit and it's the first time for my girlfriend in Australia. So, I showed her around a little bit since Christmas, traveling down the coast. The Germans like to play basketball every day here and I really enjoy that as well.
"So, a couple of small factors made me decide to have a vacation."
Quoss couldn't exactly recall his last tournament, but believed it to be during the 2018 World Series of Poker.
Since then, he's spent some time on a few different pursuits. He said immediately following poker he had a phase where he got into crypto. He embarked on some meditations. Nowadays, he focuses mainly on exercising, reading and enjoying his relationship.
"I couldn't tell you anything exciting about my life at the moment," he said.
Quoss is enjoying his return to poker.
No Plans for More
Here at Aussie Millions, Quoss skipped what used to be his old stomping ground high rollers. Instead, he warmed up with a couple of small side events just to reacquaint himself with the feeling of live poker and then hopped in the Main.
He may be happy with his quiet existence, but he admitted getting back to the felt has been enjoyable. Time away from the game can sometimes relight that fire, recharge that excitement that makes poker so addicting in the first place.
"I must say, it's fun," Quoss said. "Not only because I have chips but even in the $1K side event that I played, it was just fun to think about spots again."
Quoss has certainly played some fun hands on Day 2, coming at old high roller foe Timothy Adams with a creative line that ended with a river shove and flopping a straight flush to bust Phil Hui.
However, he said it's "very likely a one-off."
"As of now, I'm not planning on playing more poker," he said. "You might see me in Vegas for two or three weeks this summer, but no big return."
If his performance at Crown so far is any indication, prospective opponents will certainly be hoping that's the case as Quoss doesn't look to have lost a step at all.
Giovanni Barone was all in for 63,800 holding against the of Anthony Hachem.
The flop came giving Hachem a gutshot, but he failed to hit it on the run out and Barone doubled to around 135,000, still below the average which currently stands at 146,000.
The flop read and Gavin Flynn checked from the small blind. His neighbor bet 8,000 and Dzmitry Urbanovich raised to 28,000 from the hijack, getting rid of Flynn. The big blind called.
Urbanovich checked back on the turn and the arrived on the river. The first player checked and Urbanovich sized his river-bet at 45,000. His opponent thought for two minutes and then convinced himself to pay the price. Urbanovich rolled over , beating the other player who flashed .
Aram Zobian was all in for 41,400 with the on a flop and his table neighbor turned over for two overcards and a flushdraw. The turn and river were both bricks and Zobian remained in contention.
Simon Carter checked from the hijack on and David Miscikowski fired 12,500 from the button. Carter called and they both tapped the felt on the turn. The landed on the river and Carter checked again. Miscikowski wagered 20,500 and Carter tanked for about a minute and then called. Miscikowski showed air with and Carter took it down with .
Jack Wu was all-in for 52,600 on a heads-up flop of and tabled the for a straight draw. Timothy English had for a set but fell behind on the turn, the on the river came a blank.
![[user38873]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
on which Habib check-raised and picked up a call. On the 
turn, Habib check-called a shove for around 35,000 with 
and was shown the 
by Miscikowski, the 
river was a blank.
. 
against the 
of Anthony Hachem.
and Gavin Flynn checked from the small blind. His neighbor bet 8,000 and Dzmitry Urbanovich raised to 28,000 from the hijack, getting rid of Flynn. The big blind called. 
, beating the other player who flashed 
flop and his table neighbor turned over 
for two overcards and a flushdraw. The 
turn and 
river were both bricks and Zobian remained in contention.
and David Miscikowski fired 12,500 from the button. Carter called and they both tapped the felt on the 
and Carter took it down with 
for a straight draw. Timothy English had 
turn, the 
